Continuous improvement efforts and taking cognisance of new legislation have brought about an unbeatable offer from equipment manufacturer Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology in driving unprecedented numbers of mines to opt for from-the-bottom-up rebuilds of equipment rather than more traditional selective rebuilding and repairs.

The company’s Jet Park rebuild workshop is a hive of activity as a significant number of machines cross the floor to get a new lease of life. Sandvik’s strategy to rebuild machines, including all-new components from the frame up, has been a revelation and at approximately 65% of the cost of a new machine represents an offer that simply cannot be ignored.

The “Reborn” strategy means that used Sandvik equipment is stripped to the frame and rebuilt with all new components before being delivered to the customer with the same warranty as a new machine. What’s more, each piece of equipment is brought up-to-date with the latest specifications, including operational, safety and comfort features found on new models.

According to Sandvik operations manager, Andre van der Heever, this is part of the reason why reborn equipment makes sense as it brings the equipment in line with new health, safety and environmental legislation. Equally important, the productivity, efficiency and operational performance is also brought up to the same specification as equivalent new equipment.

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“Customers are aware that tighter standards are being applied and as a result they are mitigating the risk of liability arising from accidents involving non-compliant equipment. They are opting rather for genuine OEM services instead of supposedly “cheaper” options.”

Apart from the benefits mentioned before, reborn services save time and are less complex as it cuts out the need to strip and evaluate each machine, obtain quotes for repairs or replacement and then reassemble it. Reborn’s are simply stripped, the frame repaired if necessary and a complete kit is purchased to undertake the repairs including new cabs, motors, transmissions, harnesses and everything else that is required.

With all the parts at hand the machine is simply reassembled, tested and made ready for delivery. Where traditional rebuilds take an average of six-months to complete, the reborn route allows customers to implement it as a scheduled maintenance intervention and halves the time a machine is out for repairs. This obviously has a significant impact on their production.

Sandvik rebuild workshop manager, Stephan Joubert, says that because the machines are issued with a new machine warranty, all work is carried out with the utmost professionalism by highly OEM trained workmen. They work to the strictest standards and rebuild each piece of equipment to the original specifications as indicated by its serial number. This takes a high degree of expertise and commitment to do things right and is something that our Sandvik team has in spadesful.

“This type of service is in line with our “Customer for Life” approach whereby we assist them to get the most out of their equipment through appropriate support and services designed to uplift their operations. For this reason, the team also undertake careful root cause analyses of failed components to provide customers with findings that may help them to implement improvements to prevent damage in future,” says Joubert.

Sandvik rebuild specialist, Cedric Chiloane, says that reborn services are available for any Sandvik underground hard rock equipment. “It is advisable to speak to a Sandvik advisor to ensure the reborn program can be undertaken as a planned intervention.

The fact that the reborn is a planned intervention with adequate lead times means that all parts can be manufactured and sourced globally and delivered in kit form to Jet Park in the most cost effective manner, hence the unbeatable price positioning. This is considerably cheaper than buying individual parts for a selective rebuild. It is also quicker than conventional rebuilding. In some instances the turnaround time on a reborn machine may even be quicker than buying and waiting for delivery of a new machine.

“We think that it addresses every need usually associated with buying a new machine in terms of quality, safety, reliability and increased availability. Considering it is significantly cheaper and has a far shorter lead time than a new machine, it is definitely a good offer. In comparison with conventional rebuilds where the machine is only as good as its weakest part, reborns have no such limitation as they make use of all new parts all around,” Chiloane concludes.

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